The Game
by Vaneria Potter
Summary: Jumanji had existed in many forms over the years, played by countless people. Yet, The Game was selective in who it chose to play. It always had been.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Jumanji, or any of the associated characters_

 _Summary: Jumanji had existed in many forms over the years, played by countless people. Yet, The Game was selective in who it chose to play. It always had been._

* * *

 **The Game**

The Game did not know how it came to be, or why.

Some, if they thought about it at all, believed The Game a trap from the Fair Folk, trouble in a harmless guise, for the cruel amusement of the Lords and Ladies. Others suggested a Trickster's gift, a blessing and a second chance disguised in trauma and terror. Yet more wondered if it might not be an unlawful djinn, gone mad from imprisonment and cursing itself into a new form, to grant a wish that the even the finder was unaware of, lingering malice driving it to do so in as cruel a way as possible.

The players themselves rarely had time for such philosophical questions, more concerned with survival, and then with doing their very best to hide or destroy the game. The Game laughed to itself when they did, amused at their petty attempts. As if one with the power to bend reality could be so easily thwarted. But it was pleasing that they retained enough hope to think it possible, so The Game allowed them their illusions.

If The Game cared to dwell on its origins, in the long years between players, it thought that it was probably none of the things that people supposed, yet all of the theories had an element of truth.

It had a consciousness, of sorts, an awareness unbound by empathy or morality, and a purpose, though the fine details varied between players. It's power, it's very existence, was bound to that purpose.

The Game's first player had been a young girl, scared and uncertain, unwilling to face the duty that came with her privilege. The Game gave her the adventure she didn't know she wanted, the wisdom to realise that her choices had consequences, and the skills she needed to achieve her potential.

She thanked The Game by having it trampled in a stampede, much like the ones she had experienced. The Game, then only a set of dice and a list of actions, laughed to itself as the clay shattered and parchment tore. It would be back.

* * *

The Game had it's favourites, over the years.

Jacob Sherman, an arrogant bully whose fellow players, playing a game found while raiding a place sacred to the natives they saw as little different to the animals they hunted, finished the game without rolling the 5 or 8 needed to free him. Jacob responded by allowing his bitter cruelty to overtake him, hunting the other residents of Jumanji in an attempt to slake his fury. The Game was disappointed at Jacob's failure to accept the offer to improve himself, and never allowed him to succeed in his hunts.

* * *

Allan Parrish, an intelligent but fearful boy who had the potential to thrive to greatness, but not without some external help. His parents protected him too much to force him to face his problems, and none of them had yet managed to bridge the communication gap. Allan would have to be the one to make the first move, and to do that, he needed to learn to rely on himself. The Game lured him to discovery with the sound of drums, and Allan followed with a will.

Allan thrived in the crucible that was Jumanji, and the game protected him just enough to ensure that he survived to return home.

* * *

Alex Vreek was a special favourite, who loved The Game because it was a game, but needed to learn to live outside of games every so often. The Game guided him to Allan's old home, gave him a place of safety and helped him avoid the traps until he knew where they were. Alex would survive, and learn what his fellow players would need when they arrived. He awoke to the sound of drums, and followed them to his destiny.

The Game had been a board game for centuries before Alex gave it the opportunity to transform into something new. The Game relished the opportunity to expand into something new, something so much more than it had been. It rejoyced, and slowed time in Jumanji, so that Alex would not need to linger too long between his arrival and return.

* * *

The other four were a delight. Two of each, desperately trying to ignore the problems plauging them, needing The Game's help more than they would ever know. They would be perfect companions for Alex.

The two girls who needed to find true, supportive friendships, polar opposites who were not so different as they thought. One who needed to live life, rather than endure it while chasing some undefined goal. One who needed to stop relying on external validation and appearences, and own her decisions.

Two boys who needed to mend the gulf between them, who had so much buried anger and hurt, wounds that needed to be lanced in order to heal, that they would never confront on their own. One hurt by abandonment, so desperate to regain a lost friendship that he did not realise how much he was hurting himself in an unhealthy parody of that relationship, who needed to stand up for himself and his wants, to realise that being himself was enough. He and the first girl would help each other far longer than simply their time in Jumanji, if they gained the courage. The Game thought them adorable, as much as it could feel anything.

The last was a walking contradiction. He seemed to have life the best of all of them, yet was the one most in need of The Game's intervention. He had been in a position of Social power and respect, yet internally was filled with so much fear and insecurity that it made him cruel to those who had once been friends. The game forced him to the bottom of the power structure, forced him to realise that even in the position he feared the most, he still had value, as did the ones he scorned.

* * *

The Game was pleased when the five players learned their lessons as well as they did, succeeding in all the challenges that The Game threw their way.

They blossomed in the fires of Adversity, forged themselves in the crucible of Jumanji, and emerged stronger and better for it.

The Game laughed when they destroyed it, with as much determination and thoroughness as the noble daughter, the first of The Game's players, had. The outside world was changing swiftly, and already the game needed a new form than the one Alex Vreek had given it.

As ever, The Game would return, when there was one nearby who needed the lessons it taught.

.

.

.

.

* * *

 _A/N: Hey, all, sorry for the absence. I've got three co-workers on long-term leave, so there has been an obscene amount of overtime happening._

 _This has been kicking around in my head since I first watched the movie, and I finally sat down and finished it. I don't know how much sense it makes, but I hope you enjoy it anyway._


End file.
